Wonder Woman prefers peace and love to war and violence, but as a warrior with god-like strength, it makes her not only a contradiction, but a symbol of female strength and empowerment. However, in the 1960s, the bondage (tying people up with her Lasso of Truth) was stripped away with the creation of the comics code, as well as the loss of her powers. Bondage was seen as detrimental to children because of its sexual allussion, and because of that association, people would assume she was a lesbian. Then in 1971, Gloria Steinem revived the Golden Age Wonder Woman through Ms. Magazine, after being upset and offended that Wonder Woman was a boyfriend-obsessed damsel in distress rather than the ass-kicking lady she grew up with.

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And in 2015, Wonder Woman became the first superhero to officiate a same-sex wedding in a comic book series, continuing her feminist and queer icon status. As a pacifist, she is a hopeful and inspirational beacon for both men and women. Grant Morrison, a prolific Batman comic book writer, said of Wonder Woman’s concept:

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I sat down and I thought “I don’t want to do this warrior woman thing.” I can understand why they’re doing it, I get all that, but that’s not what [Wonder Woman creator] William Marston wanted, that’s not what he wanted at all! His original concept for Wonder Woman was an answer to comics that he thought were filled with images of blood-curdling masculinity, and you see the latest shots of Gal Gadot in the costume, and it’s all sword and shield and her snarling at the camera. Marston’s Diana was a doctor, a healer, a scientist.

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A lot of the problems Wonder Woman has faced is as a result of the patriarchal society she finds herself in. And that’s interesting because as Charlotte E. Howell points out in her essay “’Tricky’ Connotations: Wonder Woman as DC’s Brand Disruptor”, Wonder Woman sits in fans’ minds as equally marketable and as recognizable as Batman and Superman.

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In talking about the failed 2011 Wonder Woman pilot, Howell explains:

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For Wonder Woman, “tricky” becomes less about the image and staying true to the character for superhero fans, and more about how to minimize certain elements of her character that are seen as unmarketable. This burden adds to both the protectiveness of the fans and the industrial logic of Wonder Woman’s trickiness, and the 2011 pilot fiasco serves as an example of both.

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Many fans have cited that DC is too gritty and dark and Marvel adaptations are fun and whimsical which was encapsulated in this tweet:

 

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The Wonder Woman movie now carries “the weight of feminist hopes in an industry that seems poised to ascribe its failure to the Wonder Woman character and the idea of a female superhero fan culture more generally” as Howell says. Female superheroes’ marketing will go nowhere if the industry cannot get over their fear of marketing to everyone. DC Comics has given us terrible movie with only a handful of redeeming qualities TWICE in the last two years. Why not take a chance with other heroes even if Wonder Woman fails at the box office?

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She still makes a great role model and she’s still a meaningful character. Below is my interview with Trina Robbins and we cover a variety of different topics, but here’s what she had to say on Wonder Woman and female heroines:

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So why is it so hard to find a Wonder Woman action figure outside of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?